STEG digitalizes Tunisia’s power generation sector in cooperation with GE


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STEG digitalizes Tunisia’s power generation sector in cooperation with GE. Mr. Hichem ANENE, CEO of the Société Tunisienne de l’Électricité et du Gaz(STEG), accompanied by His Excellency Mr. Donald BLOME, Ambassador of the United States of America in Tunisia, Mr. Adel OMRANI, CEO of Services for GE Gas Power in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), and other senior officials, inaugurated Tunisia’s first Monitoring & Diagnostics (M&D) Center for power plants.

The M&D Center has been established at the headquarters of the Central Direction of Electricity Generation of STEG in Rades, a southern suburb of Tunis, to integrate software and data analytics mechanisms available in the industrial sector and use them to modernize the electricity generation sector.

The Center is expected to play a major role in connecting GE-built power generation assets that can generate more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity and are installed atsix different plants (Bir M’Cherga, Bouchemma, Thyna, Feriana, La Goulette and Sousse) in Tunisia toa smart digital center that enables a joint team from STEG and GE to work together to prevent failures occurrence through monitoring solutions that provide a comprehensive view of turbine performance and failure prediction on a 24/7 basis. The M&D Center will use GE Digital’s pioneering digital applications to manage and monitor the key performance indicators of electricity generation assets to improve production efficiency and reliability.

In his speech on the occasion, Mr. Hichem Anene, CEO of STEG stressed, “Limited energy resources, the challenges posed by climate change, the energy transition and the Covid-19 pandemic, make it imperative for us, now more than ever, to intensify efforts to increase the reliability, efficiency and sustainability of electricity generation assets to ensure we can provide uninterrupted electricity to our customers, control the cost of production and reduce unplanned outages. We are doing this by increasing the share of renewable power in the energy mix and also by gradually moving away from traditional control systems to modern technologies and digital solutions. In addition to the trend towards the digitalization of electricity distribution networks and smart meters integration, STEG sought to digitalize the electricity generation sector by adopting advanced software with its historical partner, GE.”

Mr. Adel Omrani, CEO of Services for GE Gas Power in MENA said, “Reliable power supplies enable growth, connectivity, health and safety and are the foundation on which modern societies are built. The M&D Center illustrates the commitment of STEG and GE’s leadership to foster better collaboration and knowledge transfer between our organizations with the goal of powering growth and prosperity in Tunisia. At GE, we have been honored to support the development of Tunisia’s power sector since the 1950s when the first GE turbine was installed in the country. I thank STEG and the government of Tunisia for their continued trust in GE and look forward to working together to power a brighter future for all Tunisians.”

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) that set a framework for future partnership was also signed between STEG and GE during the occasion. Under this MoU, GE intends to provide specialized training sessions for STEG employees on various Industry 4.0 concepts and programs. GE also plans to work with STEG on establishing a simulator-equipped training center at the Training and Mastering Center of Khelidia (an integrated structure of the company) to enhance the company’s employees’ capabilities to operate and maintain power plants more effectively. The purpose of these activities is to strengthen the capability to address the challenge of meeting Tunisia’s growing energy needs through local skills and strong public-private partnerships.


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